Harvey Weinstein Rape Trial: Prosecutors Claim Donna Rotunno Op-Ed Is Jury Tampering - Variety

Deliberations in Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial are slated to begin on Tuesday, but there were plenty of fireworks even before Justice James Burke could give jurors instructions, with prosecutors accusing the former movie mogul’s lawyers of jury tampering.

Before the jury was called in, prosecutors vociferously objected to a Newsweek op-ed, penned by Weinstein’s lead attorney Donna Rotunno implored the jury to “look past the headlines” and “to base their verdict solely on the facts, testimony and evidence presented to them in the courtroom.”

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi objected to the piece, saying it violated judicial behavior and was clearly written at the behest of Weinstein. “If this is conduct that is allowed to persist in courtroom, we are all lost,” she said.

Justice James Burke took no immediate action other than to remind attorneys not to speak to the press.

“Mr. Weinstein,  I would caution against the tentacles of your public relations juggernaut,” Burke said.

Weinstein, once a major force in indie film as the producer of “Shakespeare in Love” and “The King’s Speech,” faces five criminal charges. These stem from the allegations brought on by Jessica Mann and Miriam Haley, who both testified. Since the monumental trial began on Jan. 6, six women have been called to testify, including actress Annabella Sciorra, in order to prove a pattern of predatory sexual assault, but the main charges rest on the testimonies of Mann and Haley, who have accused Weinstein of rape and sexual assault.

Mann, who was embroiled in a complicated relationship with Weinstein, has accused him of rape in 2013 in a New York City hotel room. Haley, a former “Project Runway” production assistant, accused Weinstein of forcibly performing oral sex on her, in his New York City apartment in 2006, where she thought she was meeting him for business purposes. Sciorra testified that Weinstein raped her in the early 1990’s, after showing up to her apartment unannounced.

The judge allowed three other women to testify, as “prior bad acts” witnesses, which bolstered the prosecution’s stance that Weinstein is a serial sexual predator and rapist. Dawn Dunning, an aspiring actress, said Weinstein stuck his hand up her skirt during a business meeting, and then propositioned her for a threesome, in exchange for movie roles. Tarale Wulff, an aspiring actress and model who met Weinstein while working as a cocktail waitress, said Weinstein masturbated in front of her at her place of work, and then held her down and raped her on another occasion. Lauren Young, a former aspirating actress, said Weinstein trapped her in a bathroom, groped her breast and masturbated in front of her.

Weinstein could be convicted or acquitted on all charges or found guilty or not guilty of others, posing a potentially complex outcome. If convicted on all five charges, the maximum sentence is life in prison.

During closing arguments, Weinstein’s defense illuminated holes in the women’ testimony, aiming to prove that the female accusers wanted to engage in a consensual relationship with Weinstein for their own personal and professional benefit.Rotunno, said that women need to be held accountable for their own choices. The prosecution, lead by Illuzzi, argued that Weinstein is a rapist and a serial predatory who used his power and position in Hollywood to abuse and sexually assault women.

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiXGh0dHBzOi8vdmFyaWV0eS5jb20vMjAyMC9maWxtL25ld3MvaGFydmV5LXdlaW5zdGVpbi1yYXBlLXRyaWFsLWRlbGliZXJhdGlvbi1qdXJ5LTEyMDM1MDYwMDMv0gFgaHR0cHM6Ly92YXJpZXR5LmNvbS8yMDIwL2ZpbG0vbmV3cy9oYXJ2ZXktd2VpbnN0ZWluLXJhcGUtdHJpYWwtZGVsaWJlcmF0aW9uLWp1cnktMTIwMzUwNjAwMy9hbXAv?oc=5

2020-02-18 15:24:00Z
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